James Patterson - Dont Blink

James
Patterson
& Howard Roughan

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Version 1.0

Epub ISBN 9781407058115

www.randomhouse.co.uk

Published by Century, 2010

2 4 6 8 10 9 7 5 3 1

Copyright James Patterson, 2010

James Patterson has asserted his right under the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988 to be identified as the author of this work

This novel is a work of fiction. Names and characters are the product of the authors imagination and any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental

This book is sold subject to the condition that it shall not, by way of trade or otherwise, be lent, resold, hired out, or otherwise circulated without the publishers prior consent in any form of binding or cover other than that in which it is published and without a similar condition, including this condition, being imposed on the subsequent purchaser

First published in Great Britain in 2010 by Century Random House, 20 Vauxhall Bridge Road, London SW1V 2SA

www.randomhouse.co.uk

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A CIP catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library

Hardback ISBN 9781846054723 Trade paperback ISBN 9781846054730

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For Isabel Morris Patterson. J.P.

To Elaine Glass, one of the bravest I know. H.R.

Also by James Patterson

ALEX CROSS NOVELS

Along Came a Spider
Kiss the Girls
Jack and Jill
Cat and Mouse
Pop Goes the Weasel
Roses are Red
Violets are Blue
Four Blind Mice
The Big Bad Wolf
London Bridges
Mary, Mary
Cross
Double Cross
Cross Country
Alex Crosss Trial (with Richard DiLallo)
I, Alex Cross
Cross Fire (to be published November 2010)

DETECTIVE MICHAEL BENNETT SERIES

Step on a Crack (with Michael Ledwidge)
Run for Your Life (with Michael Ledwidge)
Worst Case (with Michael Ledwidge)

STAND-ALONE THRILLERS

Sail (with Howard Roughan)
Swimsuit (with Maxine Paetro)
Private (with Maxine Paetro)
Postcard Killers (with Liza Marklund, to be
published September 2010)

NON-FICTION

Torn Apart (with Hal and Cory Friedman)
The Murder of King Tut (with Martin
Dugard)

ROMANCE

Sundays at Tiffanys (with Gabrielle
Charbonnet)

THE WOMENS MURDER CLUB SERIES

1st to Die
2nd Chance (with Andrew Gross)
3rd Degree (with Andrew Gross)
4th of July (with Maxine Paetro)
The 5th Horseman (with Maxine Paetro)
The 6th Target (with Maxine Paetro)
7th Heaven (with Maxine Paetro)
8th Confession (with Maxine Paetro)
9th Judgement (with Maxine Paetro)
10th Anniversary (with Maxine Paetro, to be
published March 2011)

FAMILY OF PAGE-TURNERS

MAXIMUM RIDESERIES

The Angel Experiment
Schools Out Forever
Saving the World and Other Extreme Sports
The Final Warning
Max
Fang

MAXIMUM RIDE MANGA

Volume 1 (with NaRae Lee)
Volume 2 (with NaRae Lee)
Volume 3 (with NaRae Lee)

DANIEL X SERIES

The Dangerous Days of Daniel X (with
Michael Ledwidge)

Daniel X: Alien Hunter Graphic Novel (with
Leopoldo Gout)
Daniel X: Watch the Skies (with Ned Rust)
Daniel X: Demons and Druids (with
Adam Sadler)

WITCH & WIZARD SERIES

Witch & Wizard: The New Order (with
Gabrielle Charbonnet)
Witch & Wizard: The Gift (with Gabrielle
Charbonnet, to be published October 2010)

For more information about James Pattersons novels, visit

www.jamespatterson.co.uk

IN THE WINK OF
A BLINK OF AN EYE

LOMBARDOS STEAKHOUSE ON Manhattans tony Upper East Side was justly famous for two things, two specialties of the house. The first was its double-thick, artery-clogging forty-six-ounce porterhouse, the mere sight of which could give a vegan an apoplectic seizure.

The second claim to fame was its clientele.

Simply put, Lombardos Steakhouse was paparazzi heaven. From A-list actors to all-star pro athletes, CEOs to super-models, rap stars to poet laureates anyone who was anyone could be spotted at Lombardos, whether they were brokering deals or just looking and acting fabulous.

Zagat, the ubiquitous red bible of dining guides, said it best: Get ready to rub elbows and egos with the jet set, because Lombardos is definitely the place to see and be seen.

Unless you were Bruno Torenzi, that is.

He was the man who was about to make Lombardos Steakhouse renowned for something else. Something terrible, just unbelievably awful.

And no one seemed to notice him until it was too late until the deed was almost done.

Of course, that was the idea, wasnt it? In his black three-button Ermenegildo Zegna suit and dark-tinted sunglasses, Bruno Torenzi could have been anybody. He could have been everybody.

Besides, it was lunch. Broad daylight, for Christs sake.

For something this sick and depraved to go down, you would have at least thought nighttime. Hell, make that a full moon with a chorus of howling wolves.

Can I help you, sir? inquired the hostess, Tiffany, the one person who did manage to notice Torenzi if only because it was her job. She was a young and stunning blonde from the Midwest, with perfect porcelain skin, who could turn more heads than a chiropractor.

But it was as if she didnt even exist.

Torenzi didnt stop, didnt even glance her way when she spoke to him. He just waltzed right by her, cool as a cabana.

Screw it, thought the busy hostess, letting him go. The restaurant was packed as always, and he certainly looked like he belonged. There were other customers arriving, getting in her face as only New Yorkers can. Surely this guy was meeting up with someone who was already seated.

She was right about that much.

Table chatter, clanking silverware, the iconic jazz of John Coltrane filtering down from the recessed ceiling speakers they all combined to fill the mahogany-paneled dining room of Lombardos with a continuous loop of the most pleasant sort of white noise.

Torenzi heard none of it.

Hed been hired because of his discipline, his unyielding focus. In his mind there was only one other person in the busy restaurant. Just one.